Case Report Uterine Rupture During Labor in a Patient that Had Undergone Repetitive Uncomplicated Hysteroscopic Metroplasty Bülent HAYDARDEDEOĞLU, Seda YÜKSEL, Ayşe H. PARLAKGÜMÜŞ, Esra B. KILIÇDAĞ, Tayfun BAĞIŞ Ankara, Turkey Hysteroscopic surgery when performed by a well-trained hysteroscopic surgeon is a safe procedure with an overall complication rate of 3%, and the complications comprise uterine perforation, excessive hem- orrhage, air embolus, pulmonary edema, excessive glycine absorption, and infection. After hystero- scopic septum resection, a remnant uterine septum might be visualized on control hysterosalpingogra- phy or control hysteroscopy. Kormanyos et al. observed a remnant uterine septum in 38% of patients after initial hysteroscopic metroplasty. In our case hysteroscopy was performed twice without complica- tions. We used two different techniques in the same patient; the first involved a resectoscope with a unipolar electrode and the second involved a Versapoint with a bipolar electrode. Although these two op- eration types appear to be similar, hysteroscopic metroplasty with Versapoint is a safe and effective al- ternative to the operative resectoscope. Our case demonstrates a rare but dramatic complication of hys- teroscopic metroplasty. Uterine perforation during hysteroscopic metroplasty is accepted as a risk fac- tor for uterine rupture in pregnancy. The extensive enlargement of the uterus during pregnancy might be a reasonable cause of uterine rupture in patients that have undergone hysteroscopic metroplasty previ- ously. Key Words: Hysteroscopy, Metroplasty, Uterine rupture, Uterine septum Gynecol Obstet Reprod Med 2011;17:51-54 Operative hysteroscopy has replaced abdominal metro- After hysteroscopic septum resection, a remnant uterine plasty in many centers worldwide, with the correction of the septum might be visualized on control hysterosalpingography septate uterus for improvingoreproductive outcome.1 or control hysteroscopy. Kormanyos et al. observed a remnant Hysteroscopic surgery when performed by a well-trained hys- uterine septum in 38% of patients after initial hysteroscopic teroscopic surgeon is a safe procedure with an overall compli- metroplasty.8 A septal endometrium is unsuitable for implan- cation rate of 3%, and the complications comprise uterine per- tation of the blastocyst.9 Women with a remnant uterine sep- foration, excessive hemorrhage, air embolus, pulmonary tum have an increased chance of successful pregnancy with an 2-3 edema, excessive glycine absorption, and infection. improved obstetric outcome after normalization of the uterine Pregnancy wastage in women with recurrent abortions who cavity.8 underwent hysteroscopic resection of an intrauterine septum decreased postoperatively from 87.5% to 44.4%.4 Uterine rup- We present a patient who underwent diagnostic la- ture is an uncommon complication of hysteroscopic metro- paroscopy with hysteroscopic uterine septum resection and a plasty with an incidence of 1.5% and it may arise as a late second procedure because of remnant septum, and experi- complication during the third trimester of pregnancy.5-6 The enced uterine rupture during labor. first case report of spontaneous uterine rupture during preg- nancy following hysteroscopic septum resection with uterine Case Report perforation was documented by Halvorson et al.7 A 29-year-old, gravid 2 para 0 woman was admitted to our center because of a 2-year history of infertility. Both of her Baskent Uninersity Deparment of Obstetrics and Gynecology Division of spontaneous miscarriages had been around the 7th week of Reproductive Endocrinology and IVF Unit. Ankara gestation. A full investigation showed no apparent cause for Address of Correspondence: Bulent Haydardedeoglu the miscarriages, except for a uterine septum that occupied Sumer Mah. 69168 sokak Grand Park Plaza C Blok 12/24 Seyhan, Adana two-thirds of the uterine cavity, which was diagnosed at hys- [email protected] terosalpingography. Laparoscopy for tubal patency and hys- Submitted for Publication: 11.01.2010 teroscopy for correction of the uterine septum were recom- Accepted for Publication: 08.04.2010 mended to the patient. During laparoscopy, there was no re- 51 Gynecology Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine 2011;17:1 52 markable pathology and both tubes were patent with methyl- Two months after hysteroscopic metroplasty, a control ene blue (Figure 1). Uterine septum was observed in hys- hysterosalpingography revealed that there was a remnant sep- teroscopy (Figure 2). The septum was resected using cutting tum and a second procedure was performed by office hys- diathermy. The resection continued until the level of the tubal teroscopy with Versapoint. During the second procedure, scar- ostia. The incision was stopped along the entire length of the like tissue in the uterine fundal cavity that was assumed to be septum as soon as myometrial muscle fibers became visible at related to the previous surgery was observed (Figure 4-5). the uterine fundus (Figure 3). Figure 4: Figure 1: Figure 5: The patient conceived 7 months after the second opera- Figure 2: tion. During her pregnancy follow-up there was no abnormal- ity. At the 39th week of gestation the patient was admitted to our center for normal vaginal delivery. At the time of admis- sion, her vital signs were normal and stable with blood pres- sure 110/70 mmHg and heart rate 92/min, and her laboratory finding were within the normal ranges (Hb: 14.3 mg/dl WBC: 9690/mm3 thrombocyte: 164000/ mm3). NST was reactive. Epidural anesthesia (3 cc serum physiologic + 3 cc marcaine) was given as a bolus dose when the cervical opening was about 4 cm and effectiveness was 90%. A variable decelera- tion on NST was observed but quickly disappeared. During the second stage of labor, the patient complained of epigastric pain that was not too severe and could not be attributed to uter- ine contractions. Fetal bradycardia developed during the sec- ond stage of labor and a 3900-g live male baby was delivered by vacuum extraction. He had an Apgar score of 3 after 1 Figure 3: minute and 5 after 5 minutes. He was cyanotic and hypotonic. 53 Haydardedeoğlu B. Yüksel S. Parlakgümüş AH. et al. The baby had bradycardia with no spontaneous respiration. Versapoint is a safe and effective alternative to the operative The cord blood pH was 6.8. He was taken to the Neonatal resectoscope.10-11 We did not have a chance to evaluate which Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Placental detachment had still technique causes more thermal injury to the myometrium. not taken place 30 minutes after delivery, and so sedation was Both types of electrode if used in the same patient might have applied to the patient in order to allow manual removal of the led to more injury, which may have caused rupture during placenta. At this point uterine rupture was detected and the pa- labor. tient underwent emergency surgery. Laparotomy through a Hysteroscopic septoplasty significantly improved repro- Pfannenstiel’s incision was performed and nearly three liters ductive outcome in women with a history of spontaneous of blood was detected in the abdominal cavity. abortion.12 Furthermore, another study suggested that the risk A fundal tear 10 cm in length that extended from the left to of preterm birth and other correlated complications in women the right uterine horn was observed (Figure 6). The ruptured with either a large or fairly common smaller uterine septum myometrium was repaired in 2 layers with 1 vicryl. After ab- could be largely prevented.13 Recently, one study evaluated dominal lavage, a drain was placed in the abdominal cavity. the obstetric outcomes of hysteroscopic septum resection and Intraoperatively, her vital signs were close to normal; two showed that patients that had previously undergone hystero- units of erythrocyte suspension was given. The medio-lateral scopic metroplasty for septate uterus were at increased risk for episiotomy was repaired at the end of the operation. During fetal malpresentation at term, low birth weight infants, and de- the postoperative period, Hb levels decreased to 7.7 mg/dl and livery by caesarean section.14 one more unit of erythrocyte suspension was given. The post- A deep incision into the myometrium weakening the fun- operative period was uneventful and the patient was dis- dus or an undiagnosed perforation have been reported as pos- charged 6 days after delivery. The newborn had seizures a few sible predisposing factors for rupture, and laparoscopic con- days after delivery; brain MRI and EEG were performed. trol is recommended as a diagnostic method.15 In the first op- Metabolic abnormalities were investigated but no reliable rea- eration, we performed laparoscopy and did not detect a uter- son was detected. The seizures ceased after a week with med- ine perforation during hysteroscopy. During the second oper- ication. The baby was discharged in healthy condition 16 days ation we used a Versapoint bipolar electrode and fundal perfo- after admission to the NICU. ration did not occur. Ultrasonography can be used as a guide that might be reasonable for resection of a remnant septum in order to prevent uterine perforation. In our case, there was a relative uterine extension due to the 3900-g male baby. The extensive enlargement of the uterus during pregnancy might be a reasonable cause of uterine rup- ture in patients that have undergone hysteroscopic metroplasty previously. A previous myometrial scar such as from my- omectomy is considered a risk factor for uterine rupture dur- ing